1. SPIR II RFSA | 2023 Learning Event
The Effects of a Light-Touch Graduation Model on
Livelihoods Outcomes: Evidence from Ethiopia
Harold Alderman1, Daniel Gilligan1, Melissa Hidrobo1, Jessica Leight1,
Michael Mulford2, and Heleene Tambet1
1IFPRI, 2World Vision

2. Motivation
• In recent years, a growing literature in development economics has
examined the multifaceted constraints faced by households in
extreme poverty.
• Given the salience of these multiple constraints, multifaceted
“graduation model” interventions that simultaneously address several
barriers are widely viewed as promising – and higher-quality
evidence is growing.
• However, the effectiveness of these interventions when implemented
at large scale has not been widely explored to date.

3. SPIR (Strengthen PSNP Institutions and Resilience)
• In this talk, I will present new evidence from a randomized trial of a
lighter-touch graduation model implemented at scale in rural
Ethiopia, during the first phase of SPIR.
• SPIR targets households who are beneficiaries of the Productive
Safety Net Program (PSNP), and thus are among the poorest 20%
of rural Ethiopian households.
• The core set of interventions includes $200 lump sum transfer for the
poorest households; membership in village-level savings
associations; and training in new productive value chains.

4. SPIR graduation model: Light-touch, large-scale
• SPIR is lighter-touch than other similar interventions
• For example, the graduation model interventions across six countries
evaluated by Banerjee et al. (2015) encompass asset transfers of $600-
$1000 in conjunction with cash transfers, training, savings’ groups and
household-level coaching.
• SPIR is delivered at large scale (150,000 households)
• This is larger than other projects analyzed to date, with the exception
only of BRAC’s Targeting the Ultrapoor program in Bangladesh
analyzed by Bandiera et al. (2017), serving nearly 400,000 households.

5. The SPIR trial
• We evaluate the effects of SPIR in a large randomized controlled trial.
• We focus on the main randomization dimensions around livelihoods,
although the main trial included cross-randomized interventions
focused on nutrition.
• The primary livelihoods intervention package is a $200 transfer
(randomly assigned to be cash or poultry) in conjunction with training and
establishment of savings groups.
• A secondary, even lighter-touch package encompasses only training and
savings groups.
• The primary vs secondary packages were randomly assigned at the
kebele level. Within “primary” kebeles, this package was targeted to the
extreme poor (poorest 50%); less poor households received the
secondary package.

6. The Sample and Data Collection
• The sample includes 3,314 households at baseline in 192 kebeles in
13 woredas in two regions, Amhara and Oromia.
• All households have a child aged 0 to 36 months at baseline.
• All households (including control households) are receiving PSNP
cash/food transfers.
• Our sample includes subsistence agricultural households
characterized by average monthly consumption per adult of less than
$2.70 a day at baseline (baseline poverty rate of 45%).
• Data collection included survey rounds at baseline (2018), midline
approximately six months post-transfer (2019), and endline (2021).
• The endline was delayed by 9 months due to pandemic lockdowns.

7. Outcomes of interest
Outcome family Variables
Assets Total asset value; value of productive
assets, consumer durables, livestock
assets
Midline: livestock assets only
Credit and savings Any access to credit; access to formal
credit; total amount of credit (all past-year);
any savings, amount of savings
Midline and endline
Income Income from livestock sales; income from
sales of livestock products; crop income;
total livestock and crop income (past-year)
Not reported at midline
Any non-agricultural
income
Any regular wage labor; any casual wage
labor; any non-agricultural business
Any non-agricultural business
not reported at midline
Consumption and
food security
Consumption expenditure (total, food, non-
food); food insecurity experience scale
Not reported at midline

8. Primary findings
• In the short-run, the interventions (inclusive of transfer) lead to a
significant increase in livestock asset value (43% for poultry
recipients, and 11% for cash recipients) and in the probability of
reporting any savings (32-35 pp).
• In the medium-run, for transfer recipients we observe (noisily
estimated, attenuated) positive effects on the household asset stock
and (precisely estimated) consistent effects on the probability of
savings.
• There are large positive effects on total agricultural and livestock
income, but no shift in consumption or food security.

9. Primary findings, cont.
• There is little detectable heterogeneity comparing across the cash
and poultry transfers.
• The intervention package exclusive of transfers generally does not
have any significant effects, other than an increase in the probability
the household reports any savings (26 pp at midline, 30 pp at
endline).

10. Summary of experimental effects: extreme poor

11. Summary of experimental effects: less poor

12. Interpretation
• Generally, our findings suggest that a lighter-touch graduation model
is not sufficient to lift households out of poverty (i.e., increase
consumption and food security).
• However, there are some persistent effects on assets (primarily
livestock) and income.
• The discrepancy between income and consumption may in part reflect
seasonality.

13. Programmatic differences from other graduation models
• The ratio of transfer size to average monthly household consumption
per capita is relatively low in SPIR (around 7) compared to some
other graduation models.
• Higher than in Niger and Bangladesh; notably lower than other sites
• There is no high-frequency household-level coaching in SPIR
• Model analyzed in Banerjee et al. (2015) included weekly visits for two
years.
• The training provided does not achieve a high level of penetration
(by design), with around 20% of eligible households participating in
intensive training.
• All households receive consumption support transfers of cash and
food during the lean season (no experimental variation in transfers)

14. Programmatic differences: Lighter touch, larger scale
Author Context Year project
launched
Monthly per
capita
consumption
(PPP $2021)
Transfer
value
(PPP $2021)
Transfer /
cons.
Intervention
population
Bossuroy et al. Niger 2016 91.84 360.53 3.39 22,507
Bandiera et al. Bangladesh 2007 105.51 847.05 5.31 360,000
Brune et al. Yemen 2010 133.99 1333.02 7.19 505
Alderman et al. Ethiopia 2017 53.26 408.00 7.66 150,000
Banerjee et al. Peru 2011 122.32 1346.71 8.95 785
Banerjee et al. Ghana 2011 66.38 836.31 10.24 666
Banerjee et al. Pakistan 2008 163.02 2518.78 12.56 660
Banerjee et al. Honduras 2009 56.91 890.43 12.72 800
Banerjee et al. India 2007 49.05 860.91 14.27 541
Banerjee et al. Ethiopia 2010 58.41 1510.29 21.02 458

15. Thank you!
d.gilligan@cgiar.org